I've heard through the grapevine that they can throw some really big wedding anniversary bashes. Ususally no booze, of course. For music, maybe a few approved folksongs, nothing erotically suggestive. But I hear they have a great time opening the presents...
blacksheep
JoinedPosts by blacksheep
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61
Witnesses Just Want To Have Fun!
by Englishman inthere are hundreds and hundreds of permitted extra-curricular activities for jw's to enjoy.
activities that have nothing to do with religion or worship where jw's can really have a ball!.
so, for all of you people who sometimes wonder if you should perhaps go back, lets all list the permitted fun things that any witness can do in his / her spare time.. i'll get the ball rolling:.
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134
THE DILEMMA FACING APOSTATES
by You Know inthe dilemma facing apostate jehovahs witnesses, or apostate dubs, as i have dubbed them, (no pun intended) is the very fact of their seeming success.
one of the great ironies of the apostate movement, that presumptuously boasts of "know the truth about the truth," is that apostates themselves are bound by the watchtower's own interpretive shortcomings, and hence are massively ignorant of jehovahs judicial decisions regarding his organization.
in that the presumption in operation is that if enough scandal and error can be brought to light regarding the governing body, the watchtower society's teachings, as well as individual jehovah's witnesses, then that somehow means that jehovah's witnesses have no connection with jehovah god.
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blacksheep
As I mentioned, you don't have the spiritual insight to deal with the deep things of Satan that you have foolishly ingested because the Watchtower hasn't spelled it all out for you. That's why you are in the mess you are in right now as the world is careening towards a date with disaster.
So, you understand the "deep things of Satan?" Additionally, you are one of the few who seem to understand and appreciate God's thinking in all matters....For someone who has such deep understanding you seem to be quite cryptic and your words are disjointed and illogical. You provide no answers, just attempt to highly how others "just don't comprehend." What an ego trip.
It's a damned sight easier (and quite chicken) to smugly sit back and claim the world is "careening towards disaster," and everyone's in a mess that they cannot fix, lol. While you wait, wait, wait, for god to reveal his "perfect, judicial dealings" with everyone who doesn't have the "depth of understanding." Either of Satan's ways, or Gods.
What utter mental, emotional, and spiritual weakness if I've ever heard it. Copping out and proud of it. And condemning everyone else...Laudable.
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134
THE DILEMMA FACING APOSTATES
by You Know inthe dilemma facing apostate jehovahs witnesses, or apostate dubs, as i have dubbed them, (no pun intended) is the very fact of their seeming success.
one of the great ironies of the apostate movement, that presumptuously boasts of "know the truth about the truth," is that apostates themselves are bound by the watchtower's own interpretive shortcomings, and hence are massively ignorant of jehovahs judicial decisions regarding his organization.
in that the presumption in operation is that if enough scandal and error can be brought to light regarding the governing body, the watchtower society's teachings, as well as individual jehovah's witnesses, then that somehow means that jehovah's witnesses have no connection with jehovah god.
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blacksheep
Obviously apostate dubs at one time did believe that there was a solid foundation of our faith otherwise you wouldn't have spent those many years trying to convince others that you had the truth. Many of you were elders, ministerial servants, pioneers, and some even anointed. Where you that stupid? It is more reasonable to believe that you are now simply faithless, blind, and spiritually corrupt and have apostatized from Jehovah God .
Youre totally ignoring the fact that there are a substantial number of us who were raised in to believe this crap: who were really given absolutely no choice. In my case it was shoved down my thoat by a highly emotionally insecure and unfortunately less than logical mother, who true to the JW form, employed highly manipulative scare tactics to try basically convince their her that there IS NO OTH ER CHOICE: that the world is dyingblah, blah, blah. A very LARGE proportion of witnesses are convinced of the truth in this manner. Oh, well, 1 out of 3 bought into it. The other two she now has basically nothing to do with. So, not stupid, simply brainwashed. And, if not sucessfully brainwashed, then shunned. Lovely...
Other than that, frankly, I cannot take your post to seriously. Your choice of words is a major, hilarious turnoff. I feel like Im reading the crap I was raised on at the Tuesday night book studies as a child: right out of Then is Finished the Mystery of God or some such over-affected rhetoric reminiscent of a religious preacher/snake oil peddler.
The JWs are a joke, plain and simple. All this garbage about Jehovahs people If God WERE the almighty working through a group on earth, surely hed have the good sense and the ability to select a smarter, more consistent, more credible, group. He can do far better than false prophesies and child abuse cover ups. Give HIM a bit more credit.
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Will they disassociate me?
by Sirona inmy boyfriend was disgusted with the jws after the panorama programme, and has decided to da himself.
none of his family are jw and he just simply does not want to be listed as a jw anymore.. since we are known by the congregation to be together, will they da or df me for seeing him?.
bear in mind, neither of us have set foot in the kh for a couple of years.
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blacksheep
I think under the circumstances, if you BF can just ride his emotion out for a time and just ignore them, this might be in everyone's best interests. By taking any formal action, it tends to force other's hands, and maybe right now's not the best time. It's not as if he's tarking any pro-JW stand.
Believe me, I can relate. I've been "inactive" for 15plus years, and there are times I get so frustrated at my JW family's behavior and the negative affect JWism has had on my life and others, that I just want to write a scathing letter to the WTS and have my name removed from ANY JW association ANYWHERE. Then a wave of realism comes over me as I realize that will likely only accomplish short term satisfaction. It won't take away my pain or the change really anything about the past. Only force their hand.
In your BF's case, sounds like he doesn't have much to lose, but his taking formal action can make your life/situation difficult--hopefully he understands this.
Good luck. Don't you hate how this org forces you to second guess so much of what you do/want to do???
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JWs, Who are they patterned after?
by WildTurkey inif you asked a jw, who jehovahs witness were patterned after, they would all answer, the first century cong.
i also would have answered that way, when i was a dub.
but when reading my elder book, i found this:
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blacksheep
I recall reading in one of their articles that they felt the Puritans were very close to JWs. In many ways, it really does fit. No fun, separate from the world, dogmatic: even the typical modern day JW female patterns her dressing style after them.... I remember thinking, OMG, who else would think it would be a COMPLIMENT to be patterned after the Puritans.???
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Hardline on disfellowshipped ones
by eyeslice inonce again a hard line is being taken on shunning disfellowshipped and disassociated ones.
perhaps this is some sort of backlash against the recent adverse dateline publicity in the us, the forthcoming pananorama programme in the uk and problems with a number of influential ones leaving the organization.
the text below is from the august km insert and the meeting part is to be handled by a "well qualified" elder with the paragraphs being read by a "capable reader".
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blacksheep
Quite astute you are LDH. Wh'at's going to be really interesting, is people like me. Who've been DA'd (not even formally) for many, many years. What'll they do in my case? Suddenly announce my DA'd status from the podium, when almost none of the existing JWs even know who I am.
I'll tell you what...this all really helps explain my family's bizarre treatment of me lately. Obviously, this new injuction has GOT to breed some strange behavior. My mom/sister have called very infrequently and when they do, they make very clear that they are busy going to this JW event/party or that family/jw event party, to which of course, I'm not invited...I thought at first this was so silly and immature, but maybe that's simply to underscore all the "sweet fellowship" that I'm missing??? Then, my sister calls after several months and asks if mom called me. (No, she hadn't either in several months). Then sis proceeds to advise me of the death of an in-law (non-jw) relative whom none of us had seen in years literally, (or barely knew). Not that it wasn't sad...but the intro into our conversation just seemed odd. Now I see. It must have been the "necessary family business" requirement which prompted the call. (Only SO many relatives can die within a certain period of time to help furnish this pretext for speaking...). Then, while she has me on the phone, she starts talking about how she's had casual conversations about all these JW people (whom I hadn't seen in years) about me. How "x" guy always was interested in me, for example. Again, quite strange. What that has to do with my (or her) CURRENT life, I'll never know... But, maybe she was simply trying to pique my interest/memory in the "sweet fellowship" that I had so many years ago????
Get real!!! I have a very full, busy life OUTSIDE of the cult; haven't seen these people in nearly 2 decades. I'm having my second beautiful healthy child shortly, dh will NEVER be inclined go near any JW teaching, let alone start "studying" and come into the "truth." So, how is their little shunning game supposed to work with people like me. All it can possibly do is annoy me to no end, further alienate our family (including grandkids) from them, and is generally ludicrous.
For me, this shunning is going to backfire on them incredibly. I'm NOT going to contact them and try to maintain a "normal" relationship with them. Their trying to set up their terms for communication. I'm not taking any sort of bait. THEY are just putting a further wedge in whatever shred of relationship we had. Their far better off just letting me go entirely. This stuff is just not healthy.
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After the JW's???
by Luther ini am an xjw and i have just discovered this interesting site.
i am curious to know if anyone of you has left the jws and joined anything else.
have any of you become christians?
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blacksheep
Yes, I've left, been out for 17 or so years. No, I'm not interested in joining any other group. The JW's were a perfect (although certainly EXTREME) example to me of the problems with organized religion.
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How many ex-JWs out there?
by EXJWBrit inok, i'm really green.
i heard about this site because of a link on the bbc website due to the paedophile stuff.
i'm a little confused.
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blacksheep
Hi, I've been Disassociated for nearly 20 years, but have close family who are JWs. They still don't know quite what to do with me, since I took the "dunk" at the age of 13. Apparently, had I not done so, things would be oh, so much easier!! Apparently my irreversible life decision at the ripe old age of 13 is being held against me...
I'm happy to be able to finally share experiences and common family issues with others. When I was first leaving years and years ago, I was a young, pretty frightened (remember I was RAISED as a JW: that certainly doesnt' prepare you for any kind of LIFE in the "world...") who realized I may never find the "truth," but who was also sensible enough to realize that the JW organization was NOT any kind of an answer...I went through many experiences, talked to a few therapists, and generally felt alone most of the time. It took several years before I really felt comfortable in my own skin. Before I could get past all the hopeless crap I was doled out during my childhood; the center of which was the JW doctrine, lifestyle, etc.
Had a forum like this existed then, I think it would have made my transition a lot easier. It's been many, many years since I left; however, I'm still affected by their belief systems and am, of course, still dealing with the family disfunciton thing.
Yes, definately an "ex" witness. But, actually, in my heart, I never WAS one to begin with. Not really "bitter." I think I've managed to integate all the negativity of my life as a JW into my life now, pretty much for the good. But I DO resent having to deal with the emotional sommersaults my JW family seems to be going through. I'm getting close to asking THEM to leave me alone once and for all, rather than come into and out of my life with their game playing. Which seems to be linked with whatever "attitude du jour" they must express to their DA'd relatives such as me. Making sure they know that I'm being purposely excluded. So that way, I'll KNOW what sweet fellowship from my loving family I'm missing, and "come back into the truth." Oh, and my never believing mate will also. The JW approval of our relatives OBVIOUSLY means so much to me...
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Tempering expectations to reality
by gravedancer inas one who has been reading posts this evening i find it odd that many of the xjw's here are wondering why every jw who sees a program like panorama doesn't immediately quit the cult (yes i said cult).
well its a rather obvious explanation, in my opinion.
simply put "you cannot argue against faith with facts".
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blacksheep
GD, you've pointed out what I think is an interesting phenomenon. I think we all hope that something will be the final straw that causes the whole WT empire to crumble. It's the very same wish that some of us nurse that our JW relatives will somehow, someday see that the whole organization is a sham. Many of us have been through a painful journey of discovery, and the sham's quite crystal clear to us. And many of us have done considerable research to try to understand what makes our JW relatives/friends "tick". What makes them stay. Again, with the hope that all of a sudden they'll just abandon the org, give up the Armageddon fantasy, and try to become the people they were (or could be) without the cult influence.
You know what? I've had to come to terms with the fact that it probably ain't gonna happen. A few years ago, my die-hard JW mom made a startling comment, sort of in passing. She said even if she died without ever having seen the JW's prophesies come to full fruition (she's been an active witness since her 20's and when she made the statement she was in her late 50's), she'd still prefer the life of a JW. She feels it's the right way to live.
That was a revelation to me. After actively preaching the end, and basically living her life for the JWs, she showed a chink in her armour that somehow, at some level, it might not really be true (at least that's what I got out of her statement). Yet she'd do it all again anyway.
Good greif, as someone who was raised in it but always felt deep down it was anti-human, that there's a heck of a lot of good and mysterious beauty in the world, hear that a person has CHOSEN to live a narrow, controlled, interpreted, BORING life because that's what they WANT, it was really a revelation...
I think they such people really DO hate the world, don't feel accepted by it, cannot love themselves or perceive themselves as making a success in it, and therefore reject it. That only furthered the gap between my mom and me. But I have to accept that...
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Hardline on disfellowshipped ones
by eyeslice inonce again a hard line is being taken on shunning disfellowshipped and disassociated ones.
perhaps this is some sort of backlash against the recent adverse dateline publicity in the us, the forthcoming pananorama programme in the uk and problems with a number of influential ones leaving the organization.
the text below is from the august km insert and the meeting part is to be handled by a "well qualified" elder with the paragraphs being read by a "capable reader".
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blacksheep
Sloboy: so true about JW's trying to portray those leaving the org as totally decadent. LOL....
Scumrat: congrats on taking a positive stand on the hot/cold bizarroid behavior. I'm just about ready to. Thus far, I and my children have just been UNAVIALBLE for their little "necessary family business" meetings. (What the heck's Family Business???? I think they're obviously trying to interpret such meetings as cold, controlled, timed meetings between them and the grandbabies, where I just happen to also be present) The little complication in MY family is that my father is an "unbeliver." Full JW supporter, but unbeliever nevertheless. Makes it a bit difficult to justify/explain the limitation of "family business meetings."
They'll hang themselves eventually. They really will.